On Friday when Karma got her teeth cleaned, Lacey went in too and was to have a dental and get spayed. Doc found a heart murmur during the initial exam so they did not do anything, as it was enough to warrant another exam with an ultrasound of her heart. Apparently Persians die pretty easily while under anesthetic, so we didn’t want to take any risks.
I love this cat, quite a bit actually, but was sure that we would simply find that she had a little bump in her rhythm and would be just fine. Not so. I got the news today that she has Hypertrophic Cardiaomyopathy - or HCM. Sounds scary, and from what I can figure, it is. Depending on the severity of the individual, they can live for years with relatively little problem, or they can simply drop dead one day - and there is really no way to tell. My vets have recommended that she now see a cardiologist for a better, more definitive ultrasound. Honestly, and this makes me nauseous, I really can’t afford to take her to a specialist - we’re talking another $400. And I love my cat, and I hate that money has to come into it, but right now, I’m in school with no income, and counting on everyone to stay relatively healthy. We can give her medication, which I will, happily, but this seems to be one of those things for which there is no real definitive answer.
I am sick to my stomach, sad, and wondering what to do now. Perhaps she’ll live quite a few more years, although it seems probably not. For now, I’ll giver her more kisses and hugs every day, because each day with her, (all of them really) is a gift. Fortunately, Lacey is not showing any clinical signs, and does not seem sick at all. She is her normal, laid back, cuddly self. In fact, at her January exam, her heart was healthy and normal - so this has just developed over the last few months. I feel so guilty, and I’m not sure why. She’s always had the best of care - great food, tons of bathing and brushing, all the snuggles a kitty could want. I guess I feel bad for letting her have kittens - because they, too, are now at risk for developing heart problems. They checked out fine at their exam, but so did Lacey at their age. Had I known about her heart - obviously I would have never had kittens - I can only hope that they will all be normal (well, as normal as you can be growing up here), and live long and healthy lives. Send happy thoughts to my Lacey girl - let’s hope she’s with us for years to come.
Posted on October 16th, 2007 by michelle
Filed under: Non dog cuteness, The Naked Part
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